According to some recent studies, more than 60% of Americans live in a house. You probably know a lot of things about the house you live in, but do you know who built your house? Most people probably have no idea who built their house, but we can be sure of one thing: someone built it! 

Hebrews 3:4 says, “For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God.” There are no houses that built themselves, and there are no houses that just “popped into existence.” Building a house involves thought, intelligence, planning, engineering, careful measuring, materials, time, and lots of hard work. When we look at the world around us, we see the same thing we see when we look at a house: we see evidence that someone “built” it—and that “someone” was God. In this issue of Discovery, we are going to consider a few ways in which our world resembles a “house” and some of the evidence that points to the fact that it was built by an “expert Builder.”  

The Foundation

One of the first steps in building a house is laying a foundation that can support the house. The foundation is incredibly important if we want to have a stable and secure house that can last a long time. 

The Bible tells us in Psalm 102:25, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.” Just like a house, the earth was created by God with a “foundation” that makes it secure and stable. The Earth’s core, mantle, and crust—each having specific temperatures and densities—provide structural support and generate a magnetic field that protects life on Earth from solar radiation. The “foundation” of the Earth makes it stable, helping to maintain the Earth’s shape and supporting geological processes. The orbit and rotation of the Earth also serve to stabilize the Earth and to show its brilliant design. Before any “walls were painted” or any “windows were installed,” God made sure that His “house” would stand! 

The Framing

Once the foundation of a house is laid, the framing begins. Framing a house consists of constructing the floors, the inner and outer walls, and a roof, so that the house has shape, boundaries, and protection from the elements. There are several stages of framing a house, starting with a basic “skeleton” and then moving on to a more finished stage. The framing of a house determines what it is going to look like and how it is going to function. 

When God created the heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1), He “framed the house” in some very important ways that give it “shape” and “boundaries.” In the Universe, there are what scientists call “scientific laws.” The reason why they are called “laws” is because there are no known exceptions to these laws, which is why they could be said to “frame” what God created in Genesis 1-2. There are many examples that we could mention, but let’s talk about one: the 1^st Law of Thermodynamics.

The 1^st Law of Thermodynamics states that in nature, “energy cannot be created or destroyed—only transferred from one form to another.” In other words, the total amount of energy in a closed system (such as the Universe) is constant. It can change forms—such as wood burning to create heat and light—but the total energy always stays the same. 

There has never been a single exception to this law in the natural world. It has always been true, and it will remain true. Despite this truth, scientists did not recognize this law of nature until the mid-1800s, when scientists like Julius Robert von Mayer and Rudolf Clausius “discovered” it. 

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the Bible told us about this law long before scientists did. In Genesis 2:1-2, we read that “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested [ceased] on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” God “framed” the Universe by this fundamental scientific law.  

We haven’t even mentioned the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics, the Law of Biogenesis, the Law of Gravity, the laws of motion, the laws of chemistry, or the Law of Cause and Effect. Truly, God has “framed” the world in remarkable and observable ways that give it “shape,” “purpose,” and “boundaries.”

The Final Touches 

One of the things that makes a house a “home” is the final touches. Whether it is the paint color, the furniture, the decorations, the appliances, the heating and air system, or the electronics, we see so much creativity and purpose in the final touches of building a house. The Universe is literally filled with wondrous, amazing, and intricately designed “final touches” that show that it was created by an all-powerful God. Here are just a few examples of the amazing “final touches” that show God’s fingerprints on His Creation:

Earth’s “Heating & Air System”—Have you noticed that the Earth regulates its own temperature? In a house, someone must set the thermostat to make sure that the temperature is hot or cool enough, but God has created the Earth to do this on its own. The Sun—which is the perfect distance from us—warms the Earth. The atmosphere then keeps some of the heat in (like a big blanket) to make sure that the Earth doesn’t get too cold at night. The Earth also gives off some of its heat into space (just like a cup of hot chocolate). The oceans and clouds also help to absorb and release heat, kind of like a sponge. Imagine if the Earth reached temperatures as high as 300° or as low as -300°. What would happen? We would not be able to live here, would we? But God built this “house,” so we don’t have to worry about that! 

Earth’s “décor”—The Earth is a beautiful place, isn’t it? Whether you are snorkeling in the ocean, flying in an airplane, or driving through the mountains, you will notice that God is an amazingly gifted “Interior Decorator”! With over 300,000 different species of flowers, over 8 million species of animals and other living organisms, and about 73,000 different species of trees on Earth, God has “decorated His house” beautifully and completely. 

Earth’s “family”—Although we don’t normally consider the occupants of a house to be part of the house, we certainly want to acknowledge that God also created human beings to populate the Earth. Whether it is the diversity of our appearance, the remarkable functionality of our bodies, or the inherent morals and emotions that are part of every human being, God is the “Architect” of the human race. We were made in His image (Genesis 1:26), and we were meant to bring Him glory and honor (Isaiah 43:7; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 5:16). 

In the same way that it is obvious that “every house is built by someone,” it is equally obvious that “he who built all things is God.” Make sure that you take some time every day to notice, appreciate, and be thankful for the “house” that God built for you! 

Doc’s Corner: Where Do the Laws of Science Come From?

Over the centuries, we’ve discovered that the Universe behaves in certain ways at all times. If you drop a ball on Earth, it will always fall. Without repair, things wear out. If an object crashes into another object, it will transfer part of its energy into the object. But why does the Universe have “laws” that force everything to behave a certain way? We don’t see new laws “popping into existence” in nature. People who don’t believe in God (who only accept “natural” things) must contradict themselves and believe laws can create themselves, even though that doesn’t happen in nature. Bible believers, however, have a logical explanation. God created the laws that govern the Universe (Job 38:33), and He continues to force them to do so (Hebrews 1:3).

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